Shoe-form



{N0 Model.)

S. P. EATON.

SHOE FORM.

N0. 500,200. Patented May 10, 1896.

NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SHEPHERD FREEMAN EATON, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE-FORM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,200, dated May 19,1896.

Application filed May 2,1895. Serial No. 547,873, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SHEPHERD FREEMAN EATON, of Milford, county of\Vorcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inShoe-Forms, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanyin g drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

In the manufacture of some kinds of boots and shoes, particularly in themanufacture of what are known as McKay sewed shoes, it is necessaryduring certain processes or operations to remove the usual last for agreater or less period of time, during which the shoe is without anyinterior support to hold it in shape and usually becomes more or lessdistorted, requiring subsequent treeing to restore it to its originaland proper shape, and sometimes even this subsequent treei n g will notremove the distortion.

To obviate this liability of distortion, my present inventioncomprehends an improved form to sustain the upper and adjacent parts ofthe shoe during the sewing, this form being of thin rigid material, suchas sheet-steel.

My invention comprehends a form of special design, the shape being suchas to permit the ready removal of the last without any tendency therebyto lift or distort said form or to disarrange in the slightest degreethe adjacent parts of the unfinished shoe. The form is inserted with thelast. lVhen it becomes necessary to remove the last for any purpose,this sustaining material remains in the shoe, and its structure is suchthat it retains the shoe in shape until the last is again insertedwithin it or until the shoe is completed, when it or it and the last areremoved.

In the preferred form of my invention this sustaining material will beemployed in the form of a skeleton, which will be of a special shape, ashereinafter set forth, corresponding to and adapted to sustain theentire toe of the shoe, and will extend up at the sides of the shoe fromone-half to one inch, more or less, according to the style of shoe.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a last with the sustainingmaterial or form upon it; Fig. 2, a side View of the sustaining materialor form by itself; Fig. 3, a crosssection on the dotted line a: m, Fig.1; Fig. 4, a cross-section of a shoe, showing the sustaining material inposition upon the last within the shoe; and Fig. 5, a perspective viewof the sustaining material in the shape of a form such as I prefer touse.

At the beginning of the manufacture of the shoe the sustaining material,in the shape of a form a, such as is shown in Fig. 5, and which is ofgalvanized iron, steel, or any other suitable material or substance, isplaced upon the last I), as shown in Fig. 1, or, in other words, thelast is inserted in the form, the latter at a covering the toe of thelast and at the sides of the latter extending upwardly, as shown in Fig.The shoe is now lasted upon the last I and the form a, precisely as atpresent-i. 6., the sustaining material in the shape of the form a islasted into the shoe and between the latter and the usual last, it beingso thin that it does not interfere with the proper manufacture of theshoe. I find in practice that this sustaining material makes thedifference of about one size in the shoe.

The form a is terminated on its upper side at the toe part of theinstep-block and at a point removed from the toe only such a distance,according to the shape of the shoe, as will allow the lifting of theheel portion and the consequent sliding back of the toe portion of thelast beneath the vamp of the shoe and without any tendency thereof tolift and strain the top of said form. The heel portion also of the formterminates at an angle in the are of movement of the end thereof as itis removed. In other words, this end portion of the heel is formed withan inwardly-retreating lower base portion, as very clearly shown inFigs. 1 and 2, which is in the form,

viewed in side elevation, of an are having its radius extending to thecenter of movement of the lower edge of the last as it is lifted at theheel portion for the purpose of removal from the shoe. The last and formbeing inserted in the shoe, it results from this construction that whenit is desired to remove the last the toe part of the form does notinterfere in the slightest degree with the removal of the instep-blockof the last, inasmuch as it is terminated short of said instepblock, andat the same time the heel of the last is perfectly free to move out ofthe heel portion of the form without any tendency to lift the same andwithout any necessity for springing or spreading said form. The last isturned up on its toe end in the usual manner and at the same time gentlypulled up and toward the heel, the substantial shape of the form at itsheel end readilypermitting of this movement. The thickness of thesustainin g material is such that it does not interfere with the sewingof the shoe, and in fact assists the sewing, because it provides asmooth firm edge against which the machinehorn may be run, therebyproviding a more uniform stitching than would be otherwise possible.lVhen the last is to be again inserted, it is inserted as usual, itslipping readily within the sustaining material (L within the shoepractically as though the material were not there. After the shoe iscompleted meaning by completed when an inner support is noflongerneededthe last is first removed and then the sustaining material, orthey are both removed together, as the case may be.

I am aware that forms have been previously devised and used for the samepurpose herein set forth; but these forms have either been too shallowto afford proper support and direction to the shoeupper, being merenarrow bands surrounding the edges of the last adjacent to the sole, orthey have been extended to such a height over the body of the last as toprevent ready removal therefrom of the last, so as to require that theform shouldbe sprung in order to remove the last or else that the lastshould be loose in the forms. A type of these extended forms is shown inpatents numbered 25l,150 and 292,682. By reference to the latterit willbe seen that I have materially improved the heel formation by formingits lower portion with retracting or converging sides for the purpose ofpermitting the ready lifting and removal therefrom of the last, as fullyexplained above.

I do not lay claim to any of the features set forth in the patentsreferred to, inasmuch as my invention is limited to. improvementsthereover, as definitely set forth herein and more particularlyspecified in the claim.

I claim The herein-described skeleton sustainingform for inclosing thelower port-ion of a boot or shoe last and for insertion therewith intothe shoe in the process of manufacture, said form comprising a bodyportion in the form of a band having its lower edge terminated tocorrespond with the inside bottom line of the shoe, having a toe portionterminating adjacent to but short of the instep'blocl; of the last, saidform having its upper edge extended therefrom to the heel portion in aline approximately parallel to its lower edge, and having its heelportion formed with sides and ends uniformly converging from the top tothe bottom, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

SHEPHERD FREEMAN EATON.

lVit-nesses:

HERBERT S. ELDREDGE, BYRON BIRRET.

